While it may seem like forever ago, the Edmonton Oilers fans following the team during the time period of 2006 until 2016 likely remember the few highs and the many lows in every season during that timespan. As the team went from a Stanley Cup runner-up to a perennial cellar dweller, the fans would carry delusional hope into every season and find themselves disappointed by the end of each campaign.

Sure, there may not have been a lot to cheer about during those days but not all was doom and gloom either and the Oilers of that decade still provided us with some entertainment value at the very least.

In today’s article, we will explore some of those memorable moments from the Decade of Darkness and reminisce together on how far we have come from those days.

Omark Spin-O-Rama

Drafted 97th overall in 2007, it wouldn’t be until 2010–11 season when then 23-year-old Linus Omark would make his NHL debut. Playing against the Tampa Bay Lightning in his first NHL game, Omark made an impression by providing an assist on a Tom Gilbert power play goal. However, it would be the shootout heroics later in the game that would go on to make Omark a household name that season.

With a chance to win the game for the Oilers, Omark lit the lamp behind Dan Ellis with a memorable sequence of a spin-o-rama move before going five hole on the Lightning netminder.

Omark would go on to put up a respectable 27 points in 51 games that season, his most productive season in the NHL. He would play in 28 more NHL contests between the Oilers and the Buffalo Sabres with five points to his name across those games. Omark returned to Europe during the 2013–14 season and has played across a number of European leagues since then.

Nail Yakupov’s celebration

In one of the weaker first-rounds of the NHL drafts, the Edmonton Oilers selected Nail Yakupov with their third consecutive first overall pick. Coming off an impressive junior career with the Sarnia Sting where he put up 80 goals across 107 games, Yakupov was leaned on as an offensive asset to the core of Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

In his first season with the Oilers, Yakupov put up 31 points in 48 games of the lockout reduced season. The Oilers would have a somewhat better campaign than in the year prior though still not good enough to give fans much to cheer about. However, if there was a memorable point for most fans that season, it likely came from Yakupov himself, who with 4.7 seconds left tied the game against the Los Angeles Kings. More memorable than the late goal is the celebration that followed with Yakupov skating to the Oilers logo of the Rexall Place as euphoria descended upon the famed rink.

Yakupov’s tenure in the NHL could be described as tenuous at best. He played five more seasons in the league, putting up a total of 136 points across 350 contests before finding himself back in the KHL where he has had more offensive success.

Eberle’s debut with the Oilers

Playing in his first NHL game, alongside the fresh first overall pick in Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle made quite the impression in the always popular Battle of Alberta and stole the spotlight from his Oilers teammate.

Already a household name in Canada for his Team Canada heroics in the World Juniors tournament, Eberle took his silky mitts skills to create a truly highlight reel goal. While on a two-on-one breakaway with Shawn Horcoff, Eberle patiently waited, and with a toe drag move put the puck past the Calgary Flames legend Miikka Kiprusoff for a 2–0 lead.

Oilers would go on to win the game 4–0 with Eberle collecting an assist later in the game. Eberle remained with the Oilers long enough to be a part of their first playoff run since the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. Since then, Eberle has played on the New York Islanders and Seattle Kraken while continuing to put up impressive offensive number for both teams.

Magnus Paajarvi’s one-handed magic

Oilers had a number of draft picks during the Decade of Darkness that were looked to be that magic spark to dig the team out of its’ perennial mediocrity. Drafted 10th overall in the 2009 NHL Draft, European phenom Magnus Paajarvi was seen as a promising player on a young Oilers’ team.

In his first NHL season, Paajarvi would go on to have his best NHL campaign by putting up 34 points in 80 games, with one of his 15 goals that season becoming a truly memorable one. Down 2–4 to the Calgary Flames, Paajarvi would be sprung on a breakaway by Andrew Cogliano. With patience and strength, Paajarvi managed to put the puck past Miikka Kiprusoff with a one handed effort, sparking an Oilers’ comeback that fell short in the shootout.

Paajarvi would remain in the NHL for a number of years, spending portions of those seasons in the AHL, with his final season being the 2018–19 campaign with the Ottawa Senators. Paajarvi would put up 124 points in 467 NHL contests before finding his way to KHL and the Swedish Hockey League, the latter of which is where he most recently played.

Khabibulin’s mishap

To finish off our article, the play selected here probably best represents how the Decade of Darkness felt for the Oilers fans. In yet another Battle of Alberta game, with the score tied 3–3 in the last minute of regulation, Oilers would come close to scoring a game winning goal before the puck found itself coming the other way. Nikolai Khabibulin, then Oilers’ netminder, skated out of the net in an attempt to play the puck. Unfortunately for the Bulin wall, his puck gaffe would gift David Moss a game winning goal with 49 seconds left.

I will leave the link to this sequence here, should you choose to re-live this moment at your own discretion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdHoB3JpFMU&ab_channel=patar103.

We may be years removed from those difficult years but the memories of the Decade will live on with us forever. What has been your most memorable moment from the Decade of Darkness? Leave a comment below.

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